who is faster???
after watching denard break that 87 yard run on saturday i thought to myself when was the last time i saw a michigan player break a run where he just out ran angles, guys 5 yards in front of him and just plain ran away from everyone on the field... the only player i could think of was tyrone wheatley... the 1st wheatley run that popped into my head was his rose bowl run of 80+ yards where he just ran up the middle untouched for the most part... here is wheatlys tribute video from our good friend wolverinehistorian...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrfqskNklGg
both players are/were track guys... wheatleys main event was the 60m hurddles... another thing to remember is wheatley played at or around 220lbs... so the question is who is faster??? i'm going to say wheatly wins but it would be close...
September 13th, 2010 at 10:14 AM ^
Denard.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:30 AM ^
Look at their high school track times.
Wheatly was state champion fast in Michigan, Denard was nearly state champion fast in Florida --- which is a lot harder to do. Denard is a 10.4 100 meter dash runner. Wheatly is a 10.6 100 meter dash runner. Looks like a small difference but it's really not. Moundros ran a 10,8 in high school. Which for a guy his size, is still pretty f'ing good. Shit that's a school record at most places.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
Where did this 10.6 nonsense come from? Maybe it's my bias because he was a senior my freshman year and I HEARTed him, but dude was a 10.4 guy. It's in the U-M record book as the 5th fastest time in school history.
September 13th, 2010 at 11:33 AM ^
Moundros ran a 10.8? Source, please.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:15 AM ^
Denard is faster - no question. Wheatly could move, but was by no means a sprinter. He was, however, incredibly agile and also had the ability to run over DBs.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:29 AM ^
The one who, in fact, WAS a sprinter in college? According to the U-M track and field record books, Ty Wheatley has the 5th fastest 100m time and 4th fastest 110m hurdle time in U-M history.
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mich/sports/m-track/auto_pdf/tfm-re…
September 13th, 2010 at 10:34 AM ^
Wheatly could move, but was by no means a sprinter.Yeah, never mind the fact that he was a state champion in the 100m dash in high school, something that Keith Jackson referenced nearly every time he popped a big one. Wheatley was definitely a sprinter. Watch the 1993 Rose Bowl if you don't believe me.
September 13th, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
I am going to guess that the 'no question' replies are going to be from guys under 30. I would vote denard, based mostly on his acceleration (he seems to be at top speed faster), but I wouldn't say that it is ghastly to say Wheatley was faster. That guy was one of the fastest guys in the country while he was here.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:19 AM ^
Isn't our flat out fastest runner ever, I'll eat my hat. I know some other guys on the team have SOMETIMES faster track speed, but not by much, and not all the time. On the field, it's gotta be Denard. That run was insane. "Blockers? I don't need no steenking blockers!"
September 13th, 2010 at 10:22 AM ^
I like how in the press conference he said the only thing he thought about during that run was how he did not want to get caught from behind.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:25 AM ^
He crosses the end zone line, runs through, takes a knee to be thankful, and then his teammates catch up. Took them damn near five seconds to get there which sounds short, but that's an eternity in running time...
September 13th, 2010 at 11:15 AM ^
This was one of the most beautiful aspects of that play - Denard had several yards on the defenders, who ran hard the whole way, and he increased the distance with every stride he took. Went from 2-3 yards ahead to around 5 by the time he crossed the goal line.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:21 AM ^
September 13th, 2010 at 10:25 AM ^
some quality edutainment software for you?
September 13th, 2010 at 10:39 AM ^
September 13th, 2010 at 10:23 AM ^
On the 87 yard run you also have to take into effect that it was wet, long grass and the entire defense knew he was getting the ball, factor in all of those and it makes it even more impressive. Not to take away from the phenominal blocks by Omameh(two pancakes in one) and Roundtree but he just flat out ran by two players who were 5 yards ahead of him who had angles on him!!! I really cant think of another player in college football right now that is more electric with a ball in his hands, I guess you can say Noel Divine but he does not touch the ball every play.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
September 13th, 2010 at 10:33 AM ^
Check the U-M record book: Wheatley's best 100m time is 10.46. I'd call that a dead heat, at worst. Given that Wheatley had about 40 pounds on DR, that's pretty damn impressive.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:34 AM ^
I was too young remember Wheatley, but based on that video he may have been nearly as fast as Denard (and certainly more powerful given his size) based on his ability to get the corner and break away, but Denard has him beat in quickness. Wheatley looked like a sprinter with more straight speed, whereas Denard is shiftier.
September 13th, 2010 at 10:42 AM ^
Denard's best time of 10.56 was set in his senior year of HS at a FSHAA regional meet. Assuming that DR stays healthy and runs track through his senior UM year, I'll go out on a limb and say that he can get under 10.46.
However, how do you measure speed? The UM record holder in the 200m is none other than Butch Woolfolk.
Suffice to say that all of these guys are goddamn fast.
September 13th, 2010 at 11:02 AM ^
Denard is riduculously fast, but watching Wheatley run is poetry in motion. We'll have our answer on the track if Denard keeps running, but on the football field ... both are really fucking fast.
September 13th, 2010 at 1:14 PM ^
I was so little, but I remember that game against Washington. Man... Wheatley run to the outside... The entire Washington team crashing for him, all but unblocked. No need to find a hole. They simply couldn't catch him, even with a 5 or 10 yard head start.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:25 PM ^
September 13th, 2010 at 1:00 PM ^
September 13th, 2010 at 11:03 AM ^
I'm most impressed with Steve Adams record for shot put, and for sweetest facial hair:
September 13th, 2010 at 11:46 AM ^
Did Wheatley tie his shoelaces? I can remember but I think he did. How do you handicap that?
September 13th, 2010 at 11:47 AM ^
I saw Wheatley run the 100 yard dash as a high schooler, at Houseman Field in GR. There were 2 other elite sprinters in the same race, which Wheatley won, and one of the other elites false-started.
Tyrone was...so...much...bigger...than...the...other...guys.
September 13th, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^
what she said.
September 13th, 2010 at 11:52 AM ^
The real question should be "Who is faster, Denard or ND's TE Rudolph?"
From what I saw, Rudolph must have blazing super-fire Tight End speed to outrun a free safety
September 13th, 2010 at 12:03 PM ^
Wheatley was an absolute monster that could truck you as easily as hit the edge. Denard is more elusive, but straight line, who really knows? TW was carrying at least 30 pounds more than Denard, yet was still NCAA track fast.
Michigan is just fortunate to have both don the winged helmet, wouldn't you say?
All this being said, the question obviously can't be answered. I bet they'd be pretty close.
